I am very excited to share the latest weaning results from the Vastrap commercial cross-breeding herd. I have never seen such impressive cow:calf wean ratios as yielded by this group of commercial F1 Boran/Angus cows bred back to Angus bulls. The group yielded an average of 53% for females (with every single female calf exceeding 48%) and 57% for the male calves with only one calf below the 48% level.

I started using Boran bulls on my Angus cattle in 2010. My initial intention was to establish a commercial herd of F2 (75% Boran, 25% Angus), because I liked the look, structure and functionality of these animals. However, the theory behind outcrossing the F1 animals back to an Angus bull also made a lot of sense. The cow (75% Boran) would bring a high degree of the advantages of the Boran to the equation (such as resistance to diseases, ability to maintain body condition under tough circumstances, low maintenance costs and higher stocking levels), while the calf (62.5% Angus) would have some of the advantages of the Angus (such as growth, hybrid vigour, excellent meat quality with the corresponding acceptability to the feedlot industry).

For practical reasons, I have reverted to a more simple cross-breeding programme where I put a Boran bull on Angus cows and then follow up by putting the F1 heifers (50/50) from this combination back to a Angus bull to produce a (75/25) Angus/Boran offspring. The retained females from this combination are bred back to a Boran bull, which in turn yields a (62.5/37.5) Boran/Angus to be bred back to an Angus bull and so forth.

These results are simply astounding to me!! In 20 years of farming and record keeping, I have never seen such impressive cow:calf wean ratios as yielded by these commercial F1 Boran/Angus cows bred back to Angus bulls.

When I started farming in 2000, I came to the farm with civil engineering and commerce degrees from UCT and a master’s degree in management from the University of Oxford. My motto was “If you don’t measure it you cannot manage it”. The Afrikaans saying “As jy nie meet nie dan weet jy nie” probably says it better. From the start I realised that you can’t determine your best or worst performing animals if you don’t measure. I have always kept my commercial herds in same-age groups, tagged all cattle, kept birth records, tagged all calves and weighed calves and cows at weaning. This enabled me to make informed decisions about which cattle to cull and even more importantly: which heifers to keep as replacement stock, based on their own wean indexes, their wean weight as a percentage of their mother’s weight and the mother’s ICP and historical weaning indexes.

The reason I mention all this is not to boast about my management practices, but to place emphasis on the fact that in 20 years of farming, I have never seen such impressive cow:calf wean ratios. My experience has been that a female weaning at more than 45% of her mother’s body weight and a male at more than 48% is excellent and cows that produce these results are marked as A-grade for that breeding season. This group yielded an average of 53% for females (with every single female calf exceeding 48%!) and 57% for the male calves with only one calf below the 48% level, a truly incredible result!

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who travelled from near and far to support the 2018 Vastrap Auction. Congratulations to all the buyers! We had the biggest turnout ever this year with visitors from all over South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. We were blessed with a beautiful day and everyone seemed to enjoy the personal home-style atmosphere we aim to create. The dinner on the evening before the auction is always a highlight for us as it provides an opportunity to host people in our home and socialise in a relaxed manner before the craziness of auction day.

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It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I report that Jackie MHB 05-08 was stuck and killed by lightening last night. Jackie has had such a huge impact at Vastrap and her story reflects the journey that I have walked with the Boran.

Jackie MHB 05-08 (K6K 2228 x KPO 786)

It’s probably hard for new Boran breeders to really appreciate the hype and excitement of the heady early days of the establishment of the Boran breed in South Africa. Some of the stories that I’ve heard are stranger than fiction. Because of Jackie MHB 05-08, I have my own story to tell and I would like to share it with you as a tribute to the exceptional herd matriarch that she was.

Shortly after I purchased my first Boran bull at the 2010 National Boran auction, Stompie Olivier and I set off to Kenya in September 2010 to find out first hand about the Boran. I wanted to make sure that the hype of the breed had a concrete basis and wanted to see these animals in their original landscape and learn from the pioneers of the Boran breed in Kenya. We visited and were generously hosted by Giles Prettejohn (Ol Pejeta), Colin Tomlinson (Solio), Jackie Kenyan (Mogwooni), Sean Outram (Sosian) and the late Gilfrid Powys (Suyian, previously Kisima). I can honestly say it was one of the best trips of my life, combining travel, holiday, business, people and cattle in almost perfect balance in the most stunning setting. Marisa and I retraced my steps 5 months later on our honeymoon, which should say it all!

Upon our return, Stompie generously helped me with my first ever flush, with the Vastrap foundation cow, Eve TLM 02-43. This was in November 2010. Unfortunately, she only gave me 3 embryos so I had to buy another 8 embryos at a cost of R7’500 each and still didn’t have enough for my receivers. These embryos cost me R60’000. Our next flush was scheduled for February 2011, but I quickly decided I needed another foundation dam that flushed well in order to make the sums work.

I asked Adriaan Rall to help me find another cow as he had done with the stunning Eve TLM 02-43. He suggested I contact Jacques Moll in Ficksburg. I asked Stompie to go with me to select a suitable animal. Although Stompie had seen Jacques’ animals before, we were blown away by the quality and beauty of the Mollshoop herd. Jacques was a very reluctant seller though and didn’t want to part with any of his top heifers for R100’000.

We came back empty handed. I kept phoning Jacques every few days to ask him to reconsider and asked Adriaan to put in a good word for me. After about two weeks, Jacques came back with the following offer – for R500’000, I could pick any of his cows. What?? – R500’000!!! I was not sure I had heard right. He actually apologized profusely because even to him it sounded like a crazy price, but he honestly thought his top animal and genetics were worth that much. As you might imagine, I was blown away and very disappointed because at that price, I wasn’t going to be able to acquire a single Mollshoop animal.

Back at home, I was restless and agonized over my fate. The positivity of the Kenya trip and the exhilaration and disappointment of my first flush and newfound enthusiasm for the breed had me in twists and turns. I consulted many people, started doing calculations and extrapolations and slowly convinced myself there might be a possibility.

My sums were eventually something like this:

Top cow in the country R250’000

Heifer from top cow – R100’000 (in two years time)

40 embryos per annum (2 flushes per annum)– R300’000

Put that way, the deal didn’t seem that unrealistic, although comprehensive insurance for a R500’000 cow cost an extra R50’000! I just had one more hurdle to clear. Being very new to stud breeding and new to the Boran breed, I needed a knowledgeable partner particularly to help with decisions around flushing. I asked Stompie if he would consider being a 20% partner so that he could help with the selection of the best animal in the Mollshoop herd and help to maximize the return on my investment with his incredible eye for cattle, technical expertise, and great marketing ability. Fortunately, he agreed and we were in business.

We set a date and went to make our selection. What a tough choice! There were so many top cows to choose from, like Hope MHB 04-11, Kelly MHB 04-24, Cindy MHB 04-06, Jackie MHB 05-08, Jackie MHB 05-06, Ginger MHB 06-48, Ginger MHB 06-46 or Savanna TLM 00-03. Stompie and I eventually decided on Jackie MHB 05-08. Physically there was very little separating the top cows and one could argue this way or that. They all bred very well. In the end we chose Jackie MHB 05-08: she had incredible capacity, a deep feminine wedge and to top it off she was polled and had an excellent flushing record of 13 embryos as an open heifer and 40 on her first flush thereafter. She was also on the point of calving so she would fit into our February 2011 flush date. The deal was done, or so we thought.

Unfortunately, when Jacques had the pregnancy confirmed, she was not going to calf in December, but only in February. This meant that we wouldn’t be able to flush her in February. This almost scuppered the whole deal until we reached an agreement to include two of her daughters in our February flush as compensation for this set-back.

The two years that followed the acquisition of Jackie MHB 05-08 can only be described as beginners luck and a dream come true. The two top quality daughters that we flushed instead of her – Jackie MHB 07-32 (flushed with Khan MHB 04-27) and Jackie MHB 08-08 (flushed with B 04-42) – did extremely well with each giving 16 embryos. At the time top quality embryos were going for R7’500 each, so this was worth R240’000 to us. It was also a golden opportunity to get slightly different genetics into our herd.

Jackie 07-32

Jackie MHB 08-08

On 26 February 2011, Jackie MHB 05-08 gave birth to a bull calf and we flushed her for the first time in July 2011. Picking the perfect match for our new herd matriarch was a process in itself. We visited several farms to look at bulls like Kaptein of Johannes Norval, Mr Million of Stephen Johnson, but eventually decided on Co-Jack CI 08-30 of Circle C. We bought 6 straws on auction at R6’000 per straw. At the same sale Circle C sold a total of 20 straws of Co-Jack semen for R120’000!

After all this we were over the moon when Jackie MHB 05-08 gave us 27 embryos using only 3 of our expensive Co-Jack straws. Two months later in September, we used the other 3 straws and she gave us 21 embryos and two months after that in December, she gave us 20 embryos with Rustin MHB 06-30. This was an incredible outcome beyond our wildest expectations: 68 embryos in her first year in addition to the 32 from her two daughters making it 100 embryos in total for the deal. At R5’000 per embryo, a conservative estimate at the time, we had almost a 100% return on our investment in the first year! We then got Jackie pregnant. She calved in October 2012 and was flushed 4 times in 2013 giving an incredible 99 embryos including 40 in one flush!!

Jackie MHB 05-08 was an embryo-producing machine. She gave us 200 embryos in 9 flushes at an average of 22 embryos per flush. Her greatest value, however, was the consistent quality of her offspring from several different sires.

Her full sister Jackie MHB 05-36 was sold for R270’000 at the 2013 Boran Nationals (the top priced female),

Her daughter Jackie MHB 08-08 was sold for R150’000 at the same National Auction.

Her second daughter Jackie MHB 07-32 was the top priced female at the 2014 Vastrap auction where she sold for R140’000.

Two of her daughters were sold for R65’000 each at the 2012 Showcase auction.

At the first Vastrap auction an open heifer sired by Co-Jack was sold for R110’000.

The quality of her male offspring was also impressive. She produced Jaguar VST 12-18, which was judged the best young bull at the 2015 Boran Expo and is currently one of the top Vastrap stud sires. His full brother Jester VST 12-20 was sold for R80’000 at the 2015 Vastrap Auction. Another full brother VST 12-06 has done extremely well for Keith Peinke and was the Peinke Ranch main stud sire from 2015 to earlier this year.

While it is very sad to have lost Jackie MHB 05-08, her offspring will continue to have a huge impact on the Vastrap herd. At the start of this year I included one direct daughter Jackie VST 12-04 (Co-Jack) and two granddaughters, namely Jackie VST 12-40 (Jackie MHB 07-32 x Khan MHB 04-27) and Jackie VST 11-33 (Jackie MHB 08-08 x B 04-42) in my annual flush. I only flush 5-8 cows a year so this really shows their quality.

Farewell Jackie, you will be sorely missed here at Vastrap. You have been with us since the very beginning and you helped to put us on the map as breeders of substance. You have left an indelible mark on the Vastrap herd and your spirit will live on through your sons and daughters who will continue to fly the Jackie flag high. May you rest in peace in lush green pastures.

At Vastrap we believe a motivated and happy workforce is essential to the success of our business. We currently employ about 22 people who live on the farm with their families. Every couple of years we like to take the team on an outing to get them off the farm and share new experiences (see Farm team fun with Clarence X-Treme; Close encounter with lions; Celebrating the World Cup!). This year we took the team on a tour of Sparta Beef in Marquard. We thought it would be interesting for everyone to learn more about the meat production chain in South Africa and how we as farmers fit into it. Not only do many of our weaners end up at feedlots like Sparta, but the grain we produce is also a key input in the production of beef.

The set-up at Sparta is very impressive with massive investment in infrastructure and equipment. It really is quite something to see! Our guide, Daniel, took us through the whole process from when the animals first arrive, to the sorting pens, feeding lots, working pens, silage bunkers, feed storage and mechanics workshops. The amount of heavy equipment they have is truly incredible and the silage bunkers are huge!! After the tour we enjoyed a lunch at the Sparta Polo club which has beautiful views overlooking Marquard. To end off the day, Quentin handed out awards for Long Service (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 & 30 years); Excellent Workmanship; 100% Attendance; Extra Effort and Retirement. Over the years our staff have been incredibly loyal to us. This year Francis Koetle celebrated 30 years of service and will receive a pregnant heifer cow as thanks. Thabiso Rasoeu has retired after an amazing 37 years of service and he started working when Quentin’s father, Bill was still farming!

A huge thank you to Sparta for hosting us. A great day was had by all!

Thank you to everyone who supported the 2017 Vastrap Auction on Friday, 18 August. In many ways it was an emotional day for us as we bid farewell to the last remaining Mollshoop Boran cows that were the founding matriarchs of the Vastrap herd. Our Boran journey started with these cows and we have them to thank for the consistent quality and character of the Vastrap herd today. We bid farewell to the Mollshoop Jackies, Roses, Odettes, Hopes, Savannas et al and happily start afresh with their Vastrap (VST) offspring still carrying their names. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome as the results on the day surpassed our expectations!

This was our 5th auction and without a doubt the most smoothly run, thanks to the great service we received from the whole team at OVK/CMW led by Johan Scholtz and Paul van Biljon. From the marketing, the setting up, the auction logistics through to the loading and administration, we continuously felt a sense of comfort that everything was being run efficiently and professionally. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the OVK/CMW staff. We can wholeheartedly recommend OVK/CMW service to anyone thinking of holding a livestock auction. Thank you also to Johan van der Nest for bringing his A-game and lifting the auction with his usual unique style!

The organisation of an auction takes a huge physical and emotional toll, but it is all worth it when you see what an effort people make to get here. We were happy to see many repeat customers, but also lots of new faces, not only from the stud industry.

We are proud to be associated with all our guest sellers (Peinke Ranch, Pratos Borane and Heeltevrede Stoetery) who offered exceptional quality animals that did very well on the day. Huge congratulations to Peinke Ranch for having the highest price cow and bull on the day – Shakira PRB 14-21 (R205’000) and Leika PRB 14-18 (R140’000).

In this blog I would like to focus on Estimated Breeding Values (EBV’s) and why are they so important. In particular, how can EBVs be used to help pick which animals to buy in order to build or improve one’s herd. The main point I would like to make is that EBVs supply crucial decision-making information to a buyer, but they are only as useful as the data used to calculate them. It is important to bear in mind that the EBVs published in an auction catalogue do not indicate whether the breeder participates in the National Beef recording and Improvement scheme or how accurate the particular set of EBVs are (i.e. what data on the individual animal has actually been captured rather than inferred). As you will see below, we are doing everything we can at Vastrap to make sure the EBVs in our sale catalogue are meaningful and can be used as an extra tool to select the right animal for your herd.

Unpacking EBVs

Basically, when one buys a stud animal, there are three ways in which to judge the potential value of that animal to your stud. Firstly, one can look at the parentage or genotype (hence the importance of doing proper DNA parentage verification see The importance of parentage verification through DNA testing), secondly one can look at build or phenotype and lastly one can use EBVs. In rare cases one is able to look at progeny when buying older animals. While parentage and sound functional physical attributes like muscling, leg structure, udder conformation and teat quality will always play a very important role, EBV’s can be used to complement visual screening to select animals. There are several individual EBV’s that allow a breeder to come to an informed decision about what the animal in question can offer the breeder beyond good looks.

All EBV’s are expressed as an index where 100 is the average. Where an animal’s index is below 100, then it has faired poorer than the breed average, while an index above 100 means it has faired better.

I will briefly discuss the individual EBVs below.

Birth EBV – One wants animals that have smaller or lighter calves. This EBV serves as an indication of whether this animal will produce smaller/lighter or bigger/heavier calves. An index of over 100 will mean better than average and equate to a better chance of below average birth weight. This EBV is broken into two categories: the animal’s own birth weight EBV (Direct) and the maternal EBV. The data that feeds into these EBVs are recorded birth weights of calves born. If one has a calving problem in your herd, one would look to buy a bull with a high calving ease EBV index (i.e. low birth weights)

Calf Growth and Milk EBVs – These values are calculated using the data gathered from wean weights, the mother’s weight at weaning, 12 month weights and 18 month weights as well as the phase-D growth performance testing of bulls which is more accurate than just 12 and 18 month weights and also includes other important data points. Generally a growth and milk index above 100 is very desirable, though like all things in life some balance must be kept. Milk and fertility generally have an inverse relationship and so does growth and calving ease. If one were predominantly a weaner producer, then one would want higher milk and higher growth.

Fertility EBV – The fertility EBV is made of two sub components namely the age at first calf (AFC) and inter-calf period (ICP). Obviously, one wants an animal that has the ability to calve first amongst her peer group and that calves regularly, preferably once a year. An index above 100 is an indication that the animal is more fertile than the breed average and this is based on the past performance of the family members of the animal in question. Milk and fertility often are inversely correlated (the more cow gives to a calf the less likely she is to fall pregnant again), so while one wants the most fertile herd possible, one should avoid negatively influencing the herd milk values in this pursuit.

Cow Weight EBV – The cow weight EBV is made up of the 18 month EBV and adult weight EBV. A heavier animal at 18 months and as an adult has an index of above 100, while smaller animals have indexes low 100. The combined indexes are then used to derive a cow maintenance index, which is inversely proportional to the cow weight indexes, since a smaller cow is deemed to have a lower maintenance value. In harsher environments one would want smaller cows to reduce the maintenance factor.

Cow Value EBV – This is an accumulation of the individual EBV indexes and uses a formula using different weights of importance for the individual EBVs to give an indication of the value of the cow. Personally, I am of the opinion that individual breeders have different needs and therefore place different emphasis on individual EBVs. A breeder should rather look at the individual EBVs to see what is needed in their herd than to rely on a set formula that does not take into account different environments and individual preferences.

EBVs and data collection

Our main purpose in writing this blog is to underline the importance of thorough record keeping and the supply of accurate performance data to the National Beef recording and Improvement scheme. The EBVs supply crucial decision-making information to a buyer, but they are only as useful as the data used to calculate them. It is important to bear in mind that the EBVs published in an auction catalogue do not indicate whether the breeder participates in the beef improvement scheme or how accurate the particular set of EBVs are. One can only judge this by looking at the production data on Logix (Live Stock Information and Genetic Information Exchange) to see whether any weights have been captured.

In the Boran industry, the number of breeders participating in the National Beef recording and Improvement Scheme and performance testing is still low. I am often disappointed to see that animals in which I have a strong interest at auctions do not have a single measured data point – no birth weight, no wean weight, no mother weight at weaning and certainly no 12 or 18 month weight. Without this data, no meaningful insight can be drawn about the potential future performance of the animal and one only has genetics and physical attributes on which to make a decision.

Since buying the Mollshoop Boran stud in 2011, our policy at Vastrap Boran has been to collect as accurate data as possible on every single animal, including birth weight, wean weight and the mother’s weight at weaning. We also collect 12 month and 18 month weights. In addition, since 2011 Vastrap has put 95% of its bull calves through the Studbook administered phase-D veld performance test, which provides additional important information such as testes development, muscling, meat yield and marbling to name a few (see Bull Selection and Performance Testing). Vastrap alone has contributed over 35% of all the recorded phase-D bulls tested in the Boran stud industry.

We can therefore assure you that the EBVs of Vastrap animals, even those older ones where their individual performance data was not measured, is as accurate as it can be. You can rely on the EBVs of Vastrap animals published in the Vastrap Auction sale catalogue and these EBV will provide you with an extra tool to assess the animals you like, over and above build, looks and parentage. This should help you to make a more informed decision about which animals will fit into your herd.

Below are examples of the production data and EVBs drawn from Logix for Jackie VST 12-04, and one of our three-year old bulls that went through performance testing VST 14-84. The first column of data shows all the data on the animal that has actually been measured. This data is important for the animal’s parents and their progeny, who will have EBVs based on the performance of their parents until they get their own data.